1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to covers for toilet seats and, more particularly, to a disposable inflatable sanitary toilet seat cover which both prevents contact of a person with the surface of the seat and creates a restricted seat opening for use by a small child.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Disposable, sanitary toilet seat covers are known in the prior art and serve various and often multiple purposes. However, the means by which a seat cover is made disposable, compact, economical and hygienic in use are in large part limited by the ability of the toilet seat cover to remain secured to the toilet seat.
To achieve these purposes, numerous approaches have been taken with resulting advantages and disadvantages. One group of simple toilet seat covers is directed towards providing a disposable sheet material, such as a paper or plastic film, structured as a sleeve or layered surface which covers or envelopes the seat. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,304,511 issued May 20, 1919 to Quackenbush describes a sanitary toilet seat cover made of two layers of sheet material secured at the edges and folded so that a section can be removed along a scored line from one corner to form an opening in the center of the sheet when unfolded. U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,406 issued Feb. 21, 1989 to Akerman et al. describes a sanitary cover for toilet seats made up of a generally flat ended oval envelope with a central opening which is slidably received by a toilet seat. A similar paper sleeve toilet seat cover by Page is seen in British Pat. Specification No. 1 387 994 published Mar. 19, 1975. These type of toilet seat covers all have the disadvantage that they require careful initial positioning of the cover to avoid contact by the user with the toilet seat. Moreover, once positioned, by simple shifting of a seated individual the seat covers can slip laterally across the surface of the toilet seat, causing exposure to a potentially unsanitary condition.
British Pat. Specification No. 342,784 issued Feb. 9, 1931 to Hedgecock et al. describes a toilet seat cover in which metal springs are used to adapt a disinfectable rubber sheet material to the toilet seat. Present day materials make these means obsolete. European Patent Application 0 097 133 published Dec. 28, 1983 by Bassi discloses a single layer sheet material including two annular resilient edges provided with elastic bands. Both require careful initial positioning of the cover to avoid contact by the user with the toilet seat.
Another group of devices found in the prior art are primarily intended to aid in the toilet training of children, or in some cases, pets. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 950,758 issued Mar. 1, 1910 to Redmond describes a nursery seat made of disinfectable fabric with a central opening with edges turned upon themselves to form pockets through which hollow stiff tubes can be inserted. The tubes are then connected to one another to form a rectangular frame. U.S. Pat. No. 1,676,243 issued Jul. 10, 1928 to Berentsen describes a seat cover for infant's toilets made of a waterproof material with an upper and lower flap, the upper flap being connected to the infants garment and the lower flap hanging into a child seat opening to provide a guide into a bedpot. U.S. Pat. No. 1,733,080 issued Oct. 22, 1929 to Hamilton describes a child's seat attachment for toilet seats using hook supports which attach directly to the toilet seat and support a rubber sheet material with a central opening. U.S. Pat. No. 4,181,096 issued Jan. 1, 1980 to Grubman describes a hard seat with a ramp for use by pets. However, none of these type of devices are economically disposable or of simple enough construction to be conveniently carried in a rolled or folded condition and stored in small space like a pouch.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 255,922 issued to Price et al. shows a flat disc-like design for a child's disposable toilet seat; however, no means for preventing lateral movement of the disc is readily apparent.
Another group of devices describe means of creating an inflatable cushion or "donut". Use of a plastic film or other similar sheet material allows economical, disposable and inflatable seat cushions to be made for various purposes. However, the means by which each described seat cushion remains seated over the toilet seat vary; each such invention thus trades its ability to perform a certain function for a loss in effectiveness for other purposes.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,808,612 issued May 7, 1974 to Boyle et al. describes an elliptical inflatable toilet seat having a male deflector. The ellipse is sized and dimensioned so that when positioned over the central opening of a fixed hard toilet seat, lateral relative movement of the inflatable seat is precluded by the user's weight loading the elliptical portions which deform to provide an integral securing lip inside the central opening of the seat. Essentially, the inflatable seat is a elliptical "donut" sized to fit within the inner circumference of a hard toilet seat opening without falling through the opening under the weight of an individual. However, the device has disadvantages. First, a substantial volume of air is required to inflate the seat to obtain the proper support, and thus is time-consuming and inconvenient to inflate. Second, it fails to cover the entirety of the hard toilet seat; thus, for example, as a child grasps the seat rim for balance, the hands are exposed to the unsanitary conditions of the toilet seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,847 issued Jan. 9, 1990 to Baker et al. describes an inflatable annular cushion for assisting in the prevention of incontinence. Strap handles are used to support the cushion against the buttocks with no additional means for securing the donut to the toilet seat. Moreover, the cushion is not intended to be economically disposable for use in ordinarily encountered public or unsanitary restroom facilities. German Offenlegungsschrift 25 01 962 by Sakanek, published Jul. 22, 1976, describes a series of reusable air and foam filled pockets which are hinged together to form a toilet seat cover. Suction cups secure the seat cover to the toilet seat.
Numerous inflatable devices in the prior art are intended for the collection of human waste. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,223 issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Royal describes a disposable inflatable bedpan. U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,571 issued Mar. 7, 1995 to Vernon discloses an inflatable bedpan with disposable liner. None of these inventions disclose means for use on toilet seats.
Despite the various means by which a toilet seat cover have been adapted for use with a hard fixed toilet seat, a need still exists for a suitable means to achieve a disposable, sanitary, inflatable toilet seat cover, which when deflated and folded is very compact, yet capable of being quickly inflated; which, when inflated, provides a cushioning means by which the upper surface of the seat is quickly and easily, essentially in one step, covered in order to prevent contact of the seat with the user, whereby the seat supports both the cover and the user; and which is unitarily and integrally adapted to prevent lateral slippage of the cover from the toilet seat.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.